I was asked recently to give a lesson in my ward’s Elder’s Quorum on one of the talks from the October, 2020 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was given the opportunity to choose which talk and chose, basically at random, a talk called “Eyes to See” by the First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, Michelle D. Craig Since studying the talk and giving that lesson I’ve been pondering the following short paragraph from her talk:
With all of my heart I do not want to be like the priest or the Levite on the road to Jericho—one who looks and passes by. But too often I think I am.
First of all, I greatly appreciate it when a person in a position of authority in the Church publicly acknowledges their own concerns about not living up to the ideals expounded by the Savior. Such expressions are so refreshing and give encouragement to the rest of the us trying to live by His example, all the while knowing that we fall far short.
With that said, I wanted to explain what I personally found so important about her words.
The “priest or Levite on the road to Jericho” obviously refers to the parable told by the Savior of the Good Samaritan which is found in Luke 10:25-37. In short, the parable tells of a man who is traveling down a road when he is beaten and robbed and left for dead. A priest and Levite see the man laying on the side of the road, but cross over to pass by on the other side. A Samaritan, a man who is seemingly not as well versed in the word of God as the priest and the Levite, stops and spares no effort in helping the fallen man.
The lead up to the Savior sharing this parable is helpful in understanding His message. The Savior in relating parables always had a deeper purpose in mind. In this case, the Savior is asked by a lawyer, trying to tempt Him, “What should I do to inherit eternal life?”
The Savior answers with the question, “What do the scriptures tell you?”
The lawyer replies, “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
To which the Savior replies, “Good answer. Do that and live.”
The lawyer, though, isn’t through inquiring, and asks, “Who is my neighbor?”
Only then does the Savior relate the parable of the Good Samaritan, and afterward he says, basically, “Who of the three was a neighbor to the fallen man?” Or, “Who of the three are doing the will of God?” The three being the priest and Levite, whose job it was to study, learn, and expound the scriptures, or the Samaritan.
To which the lawyer replied, “The man that was merciful.” In other words, “The Samaritan.”
The final counsel of the Savior is quite simple, “Go, and do as the Samaritan did.”
The Savior here teaches an incredibly valuable lesson regarding the scriptures. As some would believe, the scriptures are not just dead words on paper, the meaningless recitations of ancient superstitions. On the other hand, the scriptures are not an end unto themselves, conferring some magical powers by the sole virtue of their study and memorization.
The scriptures are in my own mind best thought of as a road map to return to Our Heavenly Father. If you’re going on a trip of any consequence, your odds of getting to your desired final destination increase greatly if you have a map, and you refer to that map on occasion on your journey. The map, though, doesn’t magically transport you to where you want to go. If you’re on your journey and you come to a fork in the road and you have to decide to turn left or turn right, the map is only useful if you look at it, have the ability to discern the information the map provides, and then follow the map’s instructions. If at the fork in the road, you don’t look at the map, have no ability to relate the information contained in the map to the road in front of you, and just plain refuse to follow the path the map suggests, your map’s usefulness is diminished, perhaps to the point of uselessness.
I’ve heard people say things such as, “I’ve read my scriptures everyday for the last 20, 30, 40 years.” And my immediate reaction is always, “So what?” Or, to be more charitable, “To what end?” To go back to the parable of the Good Samaritan, if our study of the scriptures does not end with us being more prone, more willing, more ready to help the fallen man, our neighbor, what have we gained?
Like Sister Craig, I also fear that I too often am like the priest or the Levite while on my road to Jericho. Actually, I don’t fear I am, I know I am. I pray that I may apply the Savior’s parable of the Good Samaritan to my own life and be more willing to help my fallen neighbor, and not pass to the other side, or worse yet, add to my fallen neighbor’s burdens.